Global Growth: Local Opportunity: This was the theme for three recent brown bag lunches hosted by TU’s first CEO in Residence, Steve Peck. TU President Bob Caret launched the Executive in Residence Program this year with a mission of connecting business & government leaders with our dynamic students, faculty research projects, and community engagement initiatives. One of the first outcomes of the program was recently connecting with student leaders from the College of Business and Economics, Campus Activities, and the Career Center.
I was lucky to attend each lunch with Steve and thought I’d provide some of the take-aways. First, we have INCREDIBLE students—the students each provided their resumes ahead of time and came prepared with pertinent questions. Second, one discussion that seemed to come up at each lunch was…
What do CEOs want to see?
- Integrity, passion, and hard work will set you apart from your peers
- Great eye-contact, a strong hard shake, poise, and articulating your strengths really count
- “Corporate Citizenship,” your volunteer and philanthropic experiences are a great asset you can bring to the company—highlight them
- The workplace and workforce are truly Global now—study abroad, foreign languages, and international experiences are important
Steve also talked about his experience as a Towson University Business student. We learned that Steve and a few of his buddies ran the campus hot-dog stands around campus and the experiences of keeping inventory, managing employees, making revenue projections, and paying the expenses played a big role in his future career choices and opportunities.
While Steve provided helpful feedback for the students preparing to entire the workforce, our students also reinforced what makes the Towson student stand out. A College of Business and Economics student said it best, “The job market is not what it was five years ago but I am confident in the skills and experiences I’ve gained at Towson and know I am going to succeed out there.”
To learn more about the TU Executive in Residence Program or to contact Steve, visit our website.
